Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) have high potential in producing electrical energy from cheap fuels or byproduct waste gas streams of the petrochemical and metallurgical industries. The potential of these fuel cells lies in the high efficiency of converting chemical to electrical energy and could find extensive applications in the domestic, commercial, defense, and aerospace sectors of the economy. The realization of this potential is contingent on the development of reliable and cost efficient methods of cell fabrication.
One of the solid oxide fuel cell designs resembles a heat exchanger with a honeycomb structure in which the electroactive ceramic components also serve as the structural members and eliminate the need for inert supports. This design is referred to as the monolithic solid oxide fuel cell (MSOFC). The honeycomb structure the MSOFC is made up of thin layers of four components: (1) anode usually made of a nickel-zirconia cermet; (2) electrolyte made of a fully stabilized (cubic) zirconia; (3) cathode made of strontium- doped lanthanum manganite (LaMnO.sub.3); and, (4) interconnect made of doped lanthanum chromite (LaCrO.sub.3). The anode, electrolyte, and cathode layers make up a cell while the interconnect serves as an internal electrical connection between individual cells.
The monolithic solid oxide fuel cell offers lower material costs, the potential for reduced manufacturing costs, and a higher efficiency over other geometries and designs. However, fabrication of these cells is complicated because the individual components in thin sheet form must be formed into multilayer sheets which are then converted into a honeycomb structure and must be cosintered at the same relatively low temperature. Of particular importance is the sintering behavior of the interconnect material, that is, lanthanum chromite which must be sintered to close porosity or about 94% of its theoretical density.
Lanthanum chromite is a refractory material with a melting point of 2510.degree. C which requires very high temperatures and controlled atmospheres, i.e. extremely low partial pressures of oxygen for sintering to near theoretical density. Groupp and Anderson (L. Groupp and H. U. Anderson, J. Am. Ceram. Soc., 59, 449 (1976)) have shown that LaCrO.sub.3 does not sinter in air even at temperatures as high as 1720.degree. C. According to the data reported by these investigators, LaCrO.sub.3 could be sintered to 95.3% TD only at 1740.degree. C. and in an atmosphere of nitrogen having an oxygen partial pressure of 10.sup.-11 atm. The main inhibition to densification appears to be the volatilization of chromium oxides in oxidizing atmospheres. The oxidation and volatilization of lanthanum chromite in oxidizing atmospheres at temperatures higher than 1400.degree. C. has indeed been reported by Meadowcroft and Wimmer (75th Annual Meeting of the Am. Ceram. Soc., Cincinnati, (1973) and D. B. Meadowcroft and J. M. Wimmer, Am. Ceram. Soc. Bull., 58, 610 (1979)) and involves the oxidation of Cr(III) to Cr(VI) and formation of fugitive CrO.sub.3 which is a gas at the high temperatures of sintering. Therefore, the preparation of lanthanum chromite powders which sinter to close porosity at temperatures below 1650.degree. C. so that Cr volatilization is minimized is critical for the development of fuel cell fabrication technology. One method of fabricating lanthanum chromite (LaCrO.sub.3) electrodes is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,974,108. This patent teaches the preparation of strontium-doped LaCrO.sub.3 from lanthanum oxide, strontium carbonate and chromic acid by slurry mixing these materials, drying the slurry and then firing the dried powder mixture in air at temperatures in the preferred range of 1200.degree. to 1500.degree. C. The resultant fired powder is strontium-doped LaCrO.sub.3 which sinters only at temperatures in excess of 1700.degree. C.
An alternative approach is to use sol-gel technology to prepare high surface area, i.e. very fine grain, and sinter reactive LaCrO.sub.3 powders which sinter to full density at temperatures considerably lower than 1700.degree. C. Reduction in sintering temperature is achieved by controlling the composition, homogeneity, grain size, and morphology of the powder. This control is brought about by solution chemistry and improved powder separation and processing technology. One such method for preparing lanthanum chromite has been disclosed by C. N. Rao et al. "Synthesis of Complex Metal Oxides Using Hydroxide, Cyanide and Nitrate Solid Solution Precursors", Journal of Solid State Chemistry, vol. 58, 29-37 (1985). This method consists of coprecipitation of lanthanum and chromium hydroxides which are intimately mixed and essentially constitute a solid solution of LaCr(OH).sub.6. This hydroxide solid solution is converted to LaCrO.sub.3 by calcination at 850.degree. C. for 12 hours.
Specifically, Rao et al. teach the coprecipitation of LaCr(OH).sub.6 by adding an aqueous nitrate solution of metal ions to a sodium hydroxide solution with subsequent extensive washing of the resultant hydroxide gel to remove sodium ions. Removal of sodium ions from the gel is required because even a very low concentration of sodium ion markedly changes the properties of the gel and degrades the properties of the resultant lanthanum chromite powder. Moreover, Rao et al. state that ammonium hydroxide base could not be used to coprecipitate a hydroxide containing a divalent metal such as magnesium or strontium which are frequently used as dopants of lanthanum chromite. In contrast to the teachings of Rao et al., an improved sol- gel method has been disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,780, to Olson et al., for the preparation of lanthanum chromite doped with the divalent ions of magnesium, strontium, calcium or barium by coprecipitation from salt solutions of lanthanum, chromium and dopant ions with ammonium hydroxide. With the Olson et al. process, extensive washing of the precipitated gel is not needed because residual ammonium ion is removed via the gas phase during powder calcination. Upon calcination at temperatures of about 600.degree. C., the gel converts to a single compound with the huttonite structure, LaCrO.sub.4, which upon further calcination at 900.degree. C. converts to pure lanthanum chromite, LaCrO.sub.3, with average particle size of about 0.5 .mu.m. The single phase composition of this powder and its fine grain size are in sharp contrast with the powder which is derived by following the teachings of Rao et al. The lanthanum chromite powder prepared according to the Olson et al. process could be sintered to 95.7% theoretical density at 1650.degree. C. for 4 hours in a graphite furnace and to 78% theoretical density at 1600.degree. C. for 2 hours in a furnace with oxygen partial pressure of 10.sup.-10 atmospheres. Densification of this lanthanum chromite to the indicated densities was much better than that achievable by process of the type taught by Group and Anderson.